In the state of the art, a method is already known for feeding rubber to at least a first rubber-consumer device, the method being of the type in which a strip of rubber is moved continuously from a rubber-supplier device to the first consumer device.
In the particular application envisaged above, the extruder forms the first rubber-consumer device. The extruder is fed with the strip of rubber. The width of the strip of rubber needs to be matched to the delivery rate of the extruder.
In certain situations, it is desirable to use small extruders, in particular extruders that deliver extruded rubber at a rate of less than 3 kilograms per minute (kg/min). Such a rate is satisfactory given the advantage achieved by the small hinderance of such an extruder.
Optimizing the production of strips of rubber leads to strips being made that are relatively wide, typically strips that are 800 millimeters (mm) to 1000 mm wide. Consequently, when not using an extruder that is overdimensioned and capable of consuming that type of relatively wide strip of rubber directly, the strip is sliced into a plurality of slices, each of width adapted to an extruder having a low extrusion rate. That therefore leads to expensive slicing operations that are generally performed on premises that are different from the premises on which the rubber is consumed, involving intermediate storage, and/or handling of sliced rubber strip.